Puneet Kapahi vs. State Of Punjab

Facts

The petitioner, Puneet Kapahi, sought regular bail in a criminal case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. This was his second bail attempt, the first having been withdrawn. The case arose from a raid on the petitioner's medicine shop, 'Unique Pharma', and its godown. The raid led to the recovery of substantial quantities of Tramadex injections, unlabelled capsules, Alprazolam tablets, Libi tablets, Trim Fortemr tablets, Trium-MRD tablets, Albium-10 tablets, and Welprazone tablets. The petitioner claimed the recovered drugs were covered by his shop's license and purchase invoices. The State contended that the recovered contraband was from the godown, for which no separate license was obtained, making the storage unauthorized.

Held

The Court held that the documents relied upon by the petitioner, namely the license (Annexure P-3) and the GST & Tax Invoices (Annexure P-10), pertained to his shop 'Unique Pharma' located near Phagwara Gate, Jalandhar. These documents did not cover the godown where the drugs and contraband were allegedly recovered. Regarding the deposit receipts (Annexures P-13 & P-14), the Court noted the deposition by the Joint Commissioner (Drugs)-cum-Drugs Controller that while the petitioner had applied for an addition of space to his existing carpet area, he had never applied online for a Wholesale License for the godown in Monica Tower, and that the petitioner's claim to the contrary was false. The petitioner had not presented any material to contradict this deposition. Furthermore, the Court noted that the petitioner was involved in two other similar cases. Considering these facts, the gravity of the alleged offense, and the lack of a valid license for the godown, the Court concluded that the petitioner did not deserve the relief of regular bail. The petition was dismissed. The Court clarified that its observations were not an expression of opinion on the merits of the case.

Key Issues

1. Whether the recovered drugs/medicines, found in the petitioner's godown, were stored in contravention of the law, thereby attracting culpability under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985? The petitioner argued that Annexure P-3 (shop license) and Annexure P-10 (GST & Tax Invoices) demonstrated that he had applied for and was granted a license for keeping the recovered drugs/medicines, and had purchased them accordingly. Therefore, the recovery should not attract culpability. The respondent-State argued that Annexure P-3 and Annexure P-10 pertained to the petitioner's shop ('Unique Pharma') located near Phagwara Gate, Jalandhar, whereas the contraband was recovered from a different location, the godown in the basement of Monica Tower, Milap Chowk, Jalandhar. The State further contended that the petitioner had never applied for or deposited any fee for a license for this godown, making the storage unauthorized and attracting the provisions of the Act.